Four people go to extraordinary lengths to bring a paralytic to Jesus for healing. It begs the question: what do we do to bring people to Jesus, to remove the obstacles that keep others from God? While it is true that each person must decide to follow Jesus, we can all ask ourselves if we are cooperating with the Lord to help one another encounter Christ.
Mass Readings – Friday of the 1st Week of the Year
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Archive of Fr. Andrew’s Podcasts
Jesus cleanses a leper and restores his health and relationships. We, too, can look into our hearts, see what does not belong, and draw near to the Lord for the healing and restoration we require.
Mass Readings – Thursday of the 1st Week of the Year
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Mass Readings – Wednesday of the 32nd Week of the Year
10 lepers were healed by Jesus and delivered from their horrible illness by his divine power. Only one came back to say thanks – a foreigner – and his example inspires us to practice gratitude for the moments of grace we receive throughout our daily lives.
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Mass Readings – Friday of the 30th Week of the Year
Jesus uses a healing as an opportunity to teach about how we can put God first in our lives, even when it means we break a few rules.
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Mass Readings – Friday of the 27th Week of the Year
After driving out demons, Jesus takes the opportunity to teach about his authority and his power over the forces of darkness.
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Mass Readings – Tuesday of the 26th Week of the Year
James & John are offended by a Samaritan village and threaten to call down fire from Heaven. Jesus rebukes them, reminding us all that when we feel injured or offended to look to the Cross and see God’s solution to our human sin.
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Mass Readings – 24th Sunday of the Year
It’s non-negotiable. Forgiveness is a key ingredient in the Christian life and without it we cannot receive the grace that the Lord lavishes upon us. Who do we need to forgive? To whom do we need to ask for forgiveness? May we call upon God’s grace for the strength we need to be people who put forgiveness into practice.
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Mass Readings – Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
How many times throughout our lives have we made the sign of the Cross? Stop and think: at Mass; meal prayers; morning & evening prayers; special gatherings; and moments of blessing and grace. This simple action, which we teach to children at an early age, invokes a connection with the passion of Jesus.
We adorn our homes with the Cross. A crucifix is a common gift to a new home; they are placed in bedrooms and common areas as a reminder that Jesus is the source of our help and strength.
We adorn ourselves with the Cross in many ways: a crucifix on a chain; a cross in our pocket; earrings; rings; bracelets; and all the extra cards, bookmarks, figurines, and miscellaneous items that remind us that Jesus died on a Cross.
The Paschal Mystery – the death and resurrection of Christ – speaks to the heart of our faith. Out of love for us God sent Jesus, who gave his life on the Cross that we might have eternal life. Through his suffering and death, we recognize that God has made a pathway possible that we might all journey through this life to the gates of Heaven.
The Cross teaches us many lessons:
* Life is difficult, and at times painful
* Weakness and sin are part of our experience
* God identifies with our pain
* God dies that we might have life
At the core of our teaching the Cross stands as the testament of God’s love for us. On one hand the Cross is an embarrassment – after all, why would God (all powerful, all knowing, supreme) choose to be humiliated? Does that not mean that God is weak? Why could God not take away our sins in a way that showed majesty and splendor?
Yet on the other hand, the Cross is a statement that God meets us where we are in life. In our weakness, in our humiliation, in our low moments of doubt and sin God comes to us. Jesus, like us in every way but sin, understands our pain because through his Cross he shares in the suffering of the world. He knows us, and loves us even more.
Every time we make the sign of the Cross may we recall what the Lord endured for us. May the Cross be our strength as we trust in God’s love, and may we seek to follow that love as we journey through this life toward the world to come.
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Study: Recall a time when you received forgiveness. What did it feel like?
Pray: Is there someone you need to forgive? Ask the Lord for the courage and strength to do it.
Serve: Is there someone you need to ask for forgiveness? Be the first to foster healing in the relationship.
Mass Readings – 24th Sunday of the Year
Let’s take a quick look at a sketch of the readings:
On one hand the teaching is simple: if you want to be forgiven by God, start forgiving one another. It’s sound logic and makes complete sense…until you have something hard to forgive. Perhaps we have felt slighted or neglected, been hurt or experienced disappointment. Maybe we just don’t understand, or maybe we are choosing to interpret a situation in its worst possible light.
Forgiveness is the practical dimension of Christian love. After all, it’s easy to love people when we are comfortable, rested, calm and free of all distractions. The real test of our love happens when we can forgive one another in the light of Jesus Christ.
The Lord offers us the teaching of forgiveness with clarity and conviction. There is no middle ground. We forgive one another if we expect God to forgive us of our own sins. We forgive, knowing that we all stand in need of God’s forgiveness, so that by unlocking the gates of our hearts through forgiveness we can stand before the Lord ready to receive the grace of his mercy.
Two thoughts then emerge today:
May the Lord inspire us to be people of forgiveness as we practice his teaching and follow his example.
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Mass Readings – 23rd Sunday of the Year
One of the hardest things about the Christian faith is the giving and receiving of a tough message, the kind of message that hits our hearts and requires us to grow as children of God. Whether it’s something that needs to be said or something that needs to be heard, may we call upon the Lord for the courage we need to let the message of Jesus Christ speak to our souls.
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Catholic Inspiration – Podcast Archives of Homilies & Talks
Three Great Things 